Information processing apparatus that performs short-range wireless communication, control method therefor, and storage medium

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus capable of providing an appropriate IP address to a mobile terminal in which a network service discovery protocol does not function. The information processing apparatus has a plurality of lines assigned with different pieces of address information, and is configured to transmit short-range wireless-communication information, in which address information regarding one line out of the plurality of lines is set, to a communication destination via short-range wireless communication. The information processing apparatus comprises a setting unit configured to preferentially set, into the short-range wireless-communication information, address information regarding a line, out of the plurality of lines, in which a relay device for performing intercommunication between different protocols is provided between the information processing apparatus and the communication destination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, acontrol method for the information processing apparatus, and a storagemedium. Particularly, the present invention relates to an informationprocessing apparatus that performs short-range wireless communication, acontrol method for the information processing apparatus, and a storagemedium.

Description of the Related Art

An MFP has been known as an information processing apparatus thatperforms printing on the basis of print data acquired from a mobileterminal. A user uses a mobile terminal to search for an MFP capable ofperforming printing processing (hereinafter, referred to as an“available MFP for printing”). For example, the mobile terminal performssearch processing for an available MFP for printing from a plurality ofcommunication apparatuses belonging to the same network as the mobileterminal belongs to, with a network service discovery protocol, such asmulticast DNS (mDNS). When having found an available MFP for printing,the mobile terminal acquires the IP address of the available MFP forprinting from the available MFP for printing, and transmits print datato the available MFP for printing while specifying the acquired IPaddress.

In a case where an available MFP for printing is connected to a subnetto which the mobile terminal is connected, the mobile terminal can findthe available MFP for printing, in the search processing. Meanwhile, ina case where an available MFP for printing is connected to anothersubnet connected, through a gateway not supporting mDNS, to the subnetto which the mobile terminal is connected, the mobile terminal cannotfind the available MFP for printing. In contrast to this, a technique oftransmitting short-range wireless-communication information includingthe IP address of an MFP, from the MFP to a mobile terminal viashort-range wireless communication, is proposed (refer to JapaneseLaid-Open Patent Publication (kokai) No. 2016-018283). The mobileterminal accesses the acquired IP address, so that the mobile terminalcan transmit print data to the MFP in which mDNS does not function dueto the specifications of a gateway.

In recent years, an MFP having a plurality of lines (hereinafter,referred to as a “multiple-line MFP”) has been developed, themultiple-line MFP being capable of using a plurality of differentnetworks appropriately. For example, the multiple-line MFP uses alarge-scale network including a plurality of subnets connected through agateway, as a main line. The multiple-line MFP uses a small-scalenetwork including only one subnet, with no gateway, as a sub-line. Themultiple-line MFP has respective IP addresses assigned to the lines, theIP addresses of the lines being different from one another.

In a case where an IP address is transmitted to a mobile terminal inshort-range wireless communication in the use of the multiple-line MFP,it is also necessary to set the IP address in short-rangewireless-communication information, wherein only one IP address can beset in the short-range wireless-communication information. There is apossibility that mDNS does not function due to the specifications of thegateway in the main line, out of the main line and the sub-line, usedfor the large-scale network including the gateway, in the multiple-lineMFP. From the viewpoint of provision of an appropriate IP address to amobile terminal in which mDNS does not function, the multiple-line MFPpreferably has the IP address of the main line, out of the main line andthe sub-line, set in the short-range wireless-communication information.

However, because an IP address to be set in the short-rangewireless-communication information is determined from all IP addressesassigned to the multiple-line MFP, the IP address of the main line isnot always set in the short-range wireless-communication information, inthe multiple-line MFP. That is, the conventional MFP cannot provide anappropriate IP address to a mobile terminal in which mDNS does notfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an information processing apparatuscapable of providing an appropriate IP address to a mobile terminal inwhich a network service discovery protocol does not function, a controlmethod for the information processing apparatus, and a storage medium.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an information processingapparatus having a plurality of lines assigned with different pieces ofaddress information, the information processing apparatus beingconfigured to transmit short-range wireless-communication information,in which address information regarding one line out of the plurality oflines is set, to a communication destination via short-range wirelesscommunication, comprising a setting unit configured to preferentiallyset, into the short-range wireless-communication information, addressinformation regarding a line, out of the plurality of lines, in which arelay device for performing intercommunication between differentprotocols is provided between the information processing apparatus andthe communication destination.

According to the present invention, the appropriate IP address can beprovided to the mobile terminal in which the network service discoveryprotocol does not function.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing the network configuration of an MFPas an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the hardwareconfiguration of the MFP shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an exemplary operation screen to be displayedon an operation unit shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of setting processing to beperformed by the MFP shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for describing the configuration of a beacon signalto be transmitted by the MFP shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an exemplary selecting screen to be displayedon the operation unit shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a variation of thesetting processing shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing the configuration of a beacon signalto be transmitted by the MFP shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an exemplary setting screen to be displayed onthe operation unit shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described in detail below withreference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments thereof.

FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing the network configuration of an MFP10 as an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

The MFP 10 is connected to a LAN 11 via a wired LAN, to perform wiredLAN communication with a communication apparatus belonging to the LAN11, for example, a mobile terminal 12 a. The MFP 10 is connected to aLAN 14 via a wireless LAN through an access point 13, to performwireless LAN communication with a communication apparatus belonging tothe LAN 14, for example, a mobile terminal 12 b. With a network servicediscovery protocol, the mobile terminals 12 a and 12 b each performssearch processing for a communication apparatus that provides a desiredservice on a network. Examples of the network service discovery protocolinclude mDNS, Web Service Discovery (WS-Discovery), and Simple ServiceDiscovery Protocol (SSDP). For example, with mDNS, the mobile terminal12 a finds the MFP 10 having a printing function, from a plurality ofcommunication apparatuses belonging to the LAN 11, to acquire the IPaddress of the MFP 10 from the MFP 10. The mobile terminal 12 aspecifies the acquired IP address and transmits print data forinstructing printing execution, to the MFP 10.

The MFP 10 performs data communication with a communication apparatusbelonging to a large-scale network including a gateway (relay device)for performing intercommunication between different protocols. Forexample, with an access point 17, the MFP 10 performs wired LANcommunication with a mobile terminal 12 c belonging to a LAN 16connected to the LAN 11 through the gateway 15. Here, if the gateway 15does not support the network service discovery protocol, such as mDNS,the network service discovery protocol does not function. Thus, themobile terminal 12 c cannot find the MFP 10 with the above-mentionedsearch processing. In order to solve the trouble, in the presentembodiment, the MFP 10 transmits short-range wireless-communicationinformation including address information, such as the IP address andMAC address of the MFP 10, to the mobile terminal 12 c via short-rangewireless communication. The short-range wireless communication includesNear Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth (registered trademark) LowEnergy (BLE) communication.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the hardwareconfiguration of the MFP 10 shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2, the MFP 10 includes a control unit 200, a printer 206, ascanner 208, an operation unit 210, a wired LAN chip 212, a wireless LANchip 214, a Bluetooth chip 216, and an NFC tag 218. The control unit 200is connected to the printer 206, the scanner 208, the operation unit210, the wired LAN chip 212, the wireless LAN chip 214, the Bluetoothchip 216, and the NFC tag 218. The control unit 200 includes a CPU 201,a RAM 202, a ROM 203, an HDD 204, a printer I/F 205, a scanner I/F 207,and an operation unit I/F 209. The control unit 200 includes a wired LANI/F 211, a wireless LAN I/F 213, a Bluetooth communication unit 215, andan NFC unit 217. The CPU 201, the RAM 202, the ROM 203, the HDD 204, theprinter I/F 205, and the scanner I/F 207 are mutually connected througha system bus 219. In addition, the operation unit I/F 209, the wired LANI/F 211, the wireless LAN I/F 213, the Bluetooth communication unit 215,and the NFC unit 217 are mutually connected through the system bus 219.

The MFP 10 is an image forming apparatus that performs image formingprocessing, and has a printing function, a scanning function, and acommunication function. The control unit 200 controls the operation ofthe entire MFP 10. The CPU 201 reads a control program stored in the ROM203 or the HDD 204, to perform each type of control. The RAM 202 is usedas a work area for the CPU 201 and as a temporary storage area for eachpiece of data. The ROM 203 stores a control program and so on to beexecuted by the CPU 201. The HDD 204 stores a program, print data, ascanned image and so on. The printer I/F 205 connects the control unit200 with the printer 206. The printer 206 performs printing on a sheetof paper, on the basis of print data received from a communicationapparatus, such as the mobile terminal 12 a, 12 b, or 12 c, or a scannedimage generated by the scanner 208. The scanner I/F 207 connects thecontrol unit 200 with the scanner 208. The scanner 208 scans an originaldisposed on a platen (not shown), to generate a scanned image. Thegenerated scanned image is stored in the HDD 204.

The operation unit I/F 209 connects the control unit 200 with theoperation unit 210. The operation unit 210 includes a liquid crystaldisplay unit (not shown) having a touch panel function and a keyboard(not shown), through which the operation unit 210 receives an executioninstruction for a job or a setting change instruction for the MFP 10 orthe like. The wired LAN I/F 211 performs wired LAN communication with acommunication apparatus through the wired LAN chip 212. The wireless LANI/F 213 performs wireless LAN communication with a communicationapparatus through the wireless LAN chip 214. In the present embodiment,the MFP 10 has a single-line mode which uses the wired LAN I/F 211 orthe wireless LAN I/F 213 and a multiple-line mode which uses both of thewired LAN I/F 211 and the wireless LAN I/F 213. A user can set a mode tobe used, with an operation screen 300 shown in FIG. 3 to be describedlater, displayed on the operation unit 210. The Bluetooth communicationunit 215 controls BLE communication with a communication apparatus. Forexample, the Bluetooth communication unit 215 sends, from the Bluetoothchip 216, a beacon signal including the short-rangewireless-communication information at predetermined intervals previouslyset, via the BLE communication. The beacon signal includes the addressinformation regarding the MFP 10. The NFC unit 217 controls NFCperformed with a communication apparatus. For example, the NFC unit 217transmits, from the NFC tag 218, the short-range wireless-communicationinformation via the NFC.

FIG. 3 is a view showing an example of the operation screen 300 to bedisplayed on the operation unit 210 shown in FIG. 2.

The operation screen 300 includes check boxes 301 to 303 and an OKbutton 304. The user can select one check box from the check boxes 301to 303. In a case where the check box 301 is selected, the MFP 10 hasthe single-line (wired) mode set. The single-line (wired) mode allowsonly the wired LAN I/F 211 to be used out of the wired LAN I/F 211 andthe wireless LAN I/F 213. In a case where the check box 302 is selected,the MFP 10 has the single-line (wireless) mode set. The single-line(wireless) mode allows only the wireless LAN I/F 213 to be used out ofthe wired LAN I/F 211 and the wireless LAN I/F 213.

In a case where the check box 303 is selected, the MFP 10 has themultiple-line mode set. The multiple-line mode allows both of the wiredLAN I/F 211 and the wireless LAN I/F 213 to be used. Specifically, themultiple-line mode allows the wired LAN I/F 211 to be used as the mainline and the wireless LAN I/F 213 to be used as the sub-line. In thepresent embodiment, as an example, the main line has a large-scalenetwork including the LAN 11 and the LAN 16, and the gateway 15 isincluded in the main line. Meanwhile, the sub-line has a small-scalenetwork including only the LAN 14, and no gateway is included in thesub-line. The multiple-line mode allows respective different IPaddresses to be assigned to the lines. The IP address assigned for themain line and the IP address assigned for the sub-line are defined asthe IP address of the main line and the IP address of the sub-line,respectively, below. When the OK button 304 is selected, a set valueindicating the mode set through the operation screen 300 is stored inthe HDD 204.

The MFP 10 transmits the short-range wireless-communication informationincluding the address information regarding the MFP 10, to a mobileterminal in which mDNS does not function, via the short-range wirelesscommunication. In a case where the multiple-line mode is set, the MFP 10has the respective different IP addresses assigned to the main line andthe sub-line. However, due to the specifications of the short-rangewireless communication, only the IP address of either the main line orthe sub-line can be set in the short-range wireless-communicationinformation. There is a possibility that mDNS does not function due tothe specifications of the gateway 15 in the main line, out of the mainline and the sub-line, having the large-scale network including thegateway 15, in the MFP 10. From the viewpoint of provision of anappropriate IP address to a mobile terminal in which mDNS does notfunction, the MFP 10 preferably has the IP address of the main line, outof the main line and the sub-line, set in the short-rangewireless-communication information. However, because an IP address to beset in the short-range wireless-communication information is determinedfrom all IP addresses assigned to the MFP 10, the IP address of the mainline is not always set in the short-range wireless-communicationinformation. That is, the conventional MFP cannot provide an appropriateIP address to a mobile terminal in which mDNS does not function.

In order to solve the trouble, in the present embodiment, the IP addresscorresponding to the main line, out of the main line and the sub-line,including the gateway 15 provided between the MFP 10 and thecommunication destination is preferentially set in the short-rangewireless-communication information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of setting processing to beperformed by the MFP 10 shown in FIG. 1.

The CPU 201 executes a program stored in the ROM 203 or the HDD 204, toperform the processing shown in FIG. 4. The processing shown in FIG. 4is performed when the MFP 10 starts up or when a setting change is madethrough the operation screen 300. In the processing shown in FIG. 4, theIP address of the MFP 10 is set in a beacon signal that is exemplaryshort-range wireless-communication information.

In FIG. 4, the CPU 201 first determines whether or not the line mode setthrough the operation screen 300 is the multiple-line mode (step S401).

In a case where the set line mode is the multiple-line mode as a resultof the determination at step S401, the CPU 201 sets the IP address ofthe main line into a beacon signal 501 shown in FIG. 5 (step S402). Thatis, in the present embodiment, the IP address corresponding to the mainline, out of the main line and the sub-line, including the gateway 15provided between the MFP 10 and the communication destination ispreferentially set into the beacon signal 501. The beacon signal 501includes information necessary for communication with the MFP 10(hereinafter, referred to as “communication information for the MFP10”), specifically, connection information, a path information, a portnumber, an IP address, and transmission radio-field intensityinformation.

Next, the CPU 201 sets the information excluding the IP address out ofthe communication information for the MFP 10, into the beacon signal 501(step S403), and sends the beacon signal 501 at predetermined intervalspreviously set (step S404). Then, the CPU 201 terminates the presentprocessing.

In a case where the set line mode is not the multiple-line mode as aresult of the determination at step S401, the CPU 201 sets the IPaddress corresponding to the mode set through the operation screen 300,into the beacon signal 501 (step S405). At step S405, in a case wherethe single-line (wired) mode is set through the operation screen 300,the CPU 201 sets the IP address assigned for the wired LAN communicationperformed with the wired LAN I/F 211, into the beacon signal 501. In acase where the single-line (wireless) mode is set through the operationscreen 300, the CPU 201 sets the IP address assigned for the wirelessLAN communication performed with the wireless LAN I/F 213, into thebeacon signal 501. Next, the CPU 201 performs the processing at andafter step S403. When a communication apparatus capable of analyzing thebeacon signal 501, for example, the mobile terminal 12 c receives thebeacon signal 501, the mobile terminal 12 c displays the MFP 10 as anavailable MFP for printing, on the basis of the information acquiredfrom the beacon signal 501 received.

In the processing of FIG. 4 described above, the IP addresscorresponding to the main line, out of the main line and the sub-line,including the gateway 15 provided between the MFP 10 and thecommunication destination, is preferentially set into the beacon signal501. This arrangement can provide an appropriate IP address to themobile terminal 12 c in which mDNS does not function.

The present invention has been described with the embodiment describedabove, but the present invention is not limited to the embodimentdescribed above. For example, the MFP 10 may have three or more linesassigned with different IP addresses. For example, in a case where afirst line includes the gateway 15 provided between the MFP 10 and thecommunication destination and second line and third line each do notinclude the gateway 15 between the MFP 10 and the communicationdestination side, the IP address of the first line is preferentially setinto the beacon signal 501. This arrangement can achieve an effectsimilar to that in the embodiment described above.

Other than the main line, the sub-line may be used in the large-scalenetwork including the gateway 15. In this case, the user may select anIP address to be set into the beacon signal 501, with a selecting screen600 shown in FIG. 6. A line corresponding to an IP address to be setinto the beacon signal 501 is set through the selecting screen 600. Theselecting screen 600 includes check boxes 601 and 602. In a case wherethe check box 601 is selected, the IP address of the main line is set inthe beacon signal 501. In a case where the check box 602 is selected,the IP address of the sub-line is set in the beacon signal 501. Thisarrangement can provide the IP address of the line desired by the user,to the mobile terminal 12 c via the BLE communication.

In the embodiment described above, in a case where only the main line,out of the main line and the sub-line, is used for the large-scalenetwork including the gateway 15 the IP address of the main line may beset into the beacon signal 501 regardless of the setting through theselecting screen 600. This arrangement can avoid user's wrong settingthrough the selecting screen 600 in a case where only the main line, outof the main line and the sub-line, is used for the large-scale networkincluding the gateway 15.

In the embodiment described above, in a case where only the main line isused for the large-scale network including the gateway 15 and the IPaddress corresponding to a line different from the line set through theselecting screen 600 is set into the beacon signal 501, a notificationindicating that effect can be displayed on the operation unit 210.Specifically, in a case where the IP address of the main line is setinto the beacon signal 501 in spite of selection of the check box 602 onthe selecting screen 600, the following control is performed. The CPU201 displays, onto the operation unit 210, the notification indicatingthe effect that the IP address of the line different from the line setthrough the selecting screen 600 has been set in the beacon signal 501.This arrangement can notify the user that an IP address different fromthe IP address set by the user is going to be transmitted via the BLEcommunication, before the user acquires the IP address of the MFP 10with the mobile terminal 12 c or the like via the BLE communication.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, in a case where only themain line is used for the large-scale network including the gateway 15,the check box 602 corresponding to the sub-line may be controlled not tobe selected by the user through the selecting screen 600. For example,the CPU 201 does not allow the selecting screen 600 to receive aselecting operation of the check box 602 by the user, but displays thecheck box 602 in gray on the operation unit 210 to indicate that aselecting operation of the check box 602 is not allowed. Alternatively,the CPU 201 does not display the check box 602 in the selecting screen600. This arrangement can avoid a situation in which the user sets an IPaddress that is not the IP address of the main line into the beaconsignal 501 in a case where only the main line out of the main line andthe sub-line is used for the large-scale network including the gateway15.

In the embodiment described above, the short-range wirelesscommunication is not limited to the BLE communication, and may be theNFC. For example, in a case where the set line mode is the multiple-linemode, the CPU 201 sets the IP address of the main line into theshort-range wireless-communication information. Meanwhile, in a casewhere the set line mode is not the multiple-line mode, the CPU 201 setsthe IP address corresponding to the set mode into the short-rangewireless-communication information. After that, for example, when themobile terminal 12 c comes close to the NFC tag 218 of the MFP 10, theCPU 201 transmits the short-range wireless-communication information tothe mobile terminal 12 c via the NFC. This arrangement can achieve aneffect similar to that in the embodiment described above.

In the embodiment described above, an IP address to be set may bedetermined on the basis of the type of a beacon signal.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a variation of thesetting processing shown in FIG. 4.

The CPU 201 executes a program stored in the ROM 203 or the HDD 204, toperform the processing shown in FIG. 7. The processing shown in FIG. 7is performed when the MFP 10 starts up or when a setting change is madethrough the operation screen 300. In the processing shown in FIG. 7, theaddress information regarding the MFP 10 is set in a beacon signal thatis exemplary short-range wireless-communication information.

The MFP 10 can transmit a beacon signal 801 shown in FIG. 8 other thanthe beacon signal 501. The beacon signal 801 includes the MAC address ofthe MFP 10, a device name, transmission radio-field intensity, and thelike as the communication information for the MFP 10. It should be notedthat, in the present embodiment, the IP address of the MFP 10 may be setinto the beacon signal 801. When a communication apparatus capable ofanalyzing the beacon signal 801, for example, the mobile terminal 12 creceives the beacon signal 801, the mobile terminal 12 c specifies theMFP 10 on the basis of the MAC address and the device name included inthe beacon signal 801. The mobile terminal 12 c calculates a distancefrom the mobile terminal 12 c to the MFP 10, on the basis of thetransmission radio-field intensity, to perform the processing based onthe calculated distance. The user can set, for the MFP 10, a beaconsignal to be transmitted by the MFP 10 from the beacon signals 501 and801 through a setting screen 900 shown in FIG. 9. The MFP 10 allows theuser to select either a check box 901 corresponding to the beacon signal501 or a check box 902 corresponding to the beacon signal 801. Then,when the user selects an OK button 903, the set content on the settingscreen 900 is reflected.

In FIG. 7, the CPU 201 first refers to the setting made through thesetting screen 900 to determine which one of the beacon signals 501 and801 is to be transmitted by the MFP 10 (step S701).

In a case where it is determined that the beacon signal 501 istransmitted as a result of the determination at step S701, the CPU 201performs the processing at steps S401 to S405. Meanwhile, in a casewhere it is determined that the beacon signal 801 is transmitted as aresult of the determination at step S701, the CPU 201 determines whetheror not the set line mode through the operation screen 300 is themultiple-line mode (step S702).

In a case where it is determined that the set line mode is themultiple-line mode as a result of the determination at step S702, theCPU 201 determines the setting set through the selecting screen 600(step S703).

In a case where it is determined that the main line has been set throughthe selecting screen 600 as a result of the determination at step S703,the CPU 201 sets the IP address of the main line into the beacon signal801 (step S704) and performs the processing at and after step S403.

In a case where it is determined that the sub-line has been set throughthe selecting screen 600 as a result of the determination at step S703,the CPU 201 sets the IP address of the sub-line into the beacon signal801 (step S705) and performs the processing at and after step S403.

In a case where it is determined that the set line mode is not themultiple-line mode as a result of the determination at step S702, theCPU 201 sets the IP address corresponding to the set mode through theoperation screen 300, into the beacon signal 801 (step S706). At stepS706, in a case where the single-line (wired) mode is set through theoperation screen 300, the CPU 201 sets the IP address assigned for thewired LAN communication performed with the wired LAN I/F 211, into thebeacon signal 801. In a case where the single-line (wireless) mode isset through the operation screen 300, the CPU 201 sets the IP addressassigned for the wireless LAN communication performed with the wirelessLAN I/F 213, into the beacon signal 801. Next, the CPU 201 performs theprocessing at and after step S403.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™,a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2017-176993, filed Sep. 14, 2017, which is hereby incorporated byreference wherein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus having aplurality of lines assigned with different pieces of addressinformation, the information processing apparatus being configured totransmit short-range wireless-communication information, in whichaddress information regarding one line out of the plurality of lines isset, to a communication destination via short-range wirelesscommunication, the information processing apparatus comprising: asetting unit configured to preferentially set, into the short-rangewireless-communication information, address information regarding aline, out of the plurality of lines, in which a relay device forperforming intercommunication between different protocols is providedbetween the information processing apparatus and the communicationdestination.
 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, further comprising a selecting unit configured to cause a user toselect a line corresponding to address information to be set in theshort-range wireless-communication information, wherein, in a case whereall of the plurality of lines have the relay device provided between theinformation processing apparatus and the communication destination, thesetting unit sets the address information regarding the line selected bythe user, into the short-range wireless-communication information. 3.The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, in acase where the plurality of lines include a line in which the relaydevice is not provided between the information processing apparatus andthe communication destination, the setting unit sets, into theshort-range wireless-communication information, the address informationregarding the line in which the relay device is provided between theinformation processing apparatus and the communication destination,regardless of the selection of the user by the selecting unit.
 4. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 3, furthercomprising a notifying unit configured to notify the user that theaddress information regarding another line different from the lineselected by the user.
 5. The information processing apparatus accordingto claim 3, wherein the selecting unit is controlled to prevent the userfrom selecting the line, out of the plurality of lines, in which therelay device is not provided between the information processingapparatus and the communication destination.
 6. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the short-rangewireless communication is either Near Field Communication (NFC) orBluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication.
 7. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relay device is a gateway.8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe information processing apparatus is an image forming apparatus thatperforms image forming processing.
 9. A control method for aninformation processing apparatus having a plurality of lines assignedwith different pieces of address information, the information processingapparatus being configured to transmit short-rangewireless-communication information, in which address informationregarding one line out of the plurality of lines is set, to acommunication destination via short-range wireless communication, thecontrol method comprising: a setting step of preferentially setting,into the short-range wireless-communication information, addressinformation regarding a line, out of the plurality of lines, in which arelay device for performing intercommunication between differentprotocols is provided between the information processing apparatus andthe communication destination.
 10. A computer-readable non-transitorystorage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute acontrol method for an information processing apparatus having aplurality of lines assigned with different pieces of addressinformation, the information processing apparatus being configured totransmit short-range wireless-communication information, in whichaddress information regarding one line out of the plurality of lines isset, to a communication destination via short-range wirelesscommunication, the control method comprising: a setting step ofpreferentially setting, into the short-range wireless-communicationinformation, address information regarding a line, out of the pluralityof lines, in which a relay device for performing intercommunicationbetween different protocols is provided between the informationprocessing apparatus and the communication destination.